Artefacts

Steam tractors transformed the nature of farming for Mennonites. This steamer was originally used in Lac Seul, Ontario to drive a sawmill for a nearby dam, then was abandoned in 1935.

A model of the river boat International, which carried Mennonites on the final legs of the journey to Manitoba. Peter A. Plett made this model between 1985-1989.

Crokinole was one of the many family games that Mennonites played. Interestingly, they tended not to play cards. Crokinole was invented in 1876 in a small Mennonite community in Ontario.

This is an oil painting of a Mennonite farm scene near Niverville (East Reserve). The steam engine changed the nature of farming in Manitoba, and Mennonites were early adopters.

This chair was made using a design popular when the Mennonites lived in Prussia (now Poland). David Falk built this chair using local wood in Manitoba.

A homemade alarm used in case of an emergency. It was made by Henry Neufeld for his grandson.

Toys were often left behind when Mennonites immigrated, but new ones were made shortly after arriving. This homemade ball was used by children when they weren’t working on the farm.

This math book comes from Blumenhof Private School (West Reserve). One of the promises made to the Mennonites was that they could educate their children in their own schools in German. However, legislation passed in 1916 required all education to be in English, and is one of the factors that led to Mennonites leaving for Mexico and Paraguay in the 1920s.

The Haube was a head covering worn by Mennonite women while attending worship services. This Haube was made in 1890.

Olga Lechelt emigrated to Canada from Volhynia, Imperial Russia in 1912 with six of her siblings, leaving her parents and seven other siblings behind. Olga settled in Friedensfeld and played the mandolin and the guitar. Her sibling who settled in the United States may have bought this mandolin for her.